Praise for USA TODAYs Summer Reading Program

This past summer I used the USA TODAY Summer Program for my 11th and 12th grade students who still have not passed the FCAT. These students are really hard to reach and have negative attitudes about reading in general. All I can say is WOW! I have not seen this level of student so engaged and interested in reading in I cant tell you how long! They would come in, grab a paper, and sit down to start reading before the bell even rang! And, getting them to do the work was no problem because they were usually given a choice of article to read, within the parameters of the lesson, which made the reading relevant to them. I specifically asked them on the last day if they would like to use the newspapers like this in their reading classes next year and I received an enthusiastic “Yes!” The lesson plans were easy to use and the curriculum was aligned to our state standards. Well worth the money!